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21st out of 125 books
—
139 voters
You Are Your Child's First Teacher: What Parents Can Do with and for Their Children from Birth to Age Six
Nowadays parents are bombarded by any number of approaches about how to be with their children. YOU ARE YOUR CHILD'S FIRST TEACHER introduces a new way of understanding the human being so that parents can be best equipped to serve as their own children's best teachers. Chapters include: Caring for the Newborn, Helping Your Toddler's Development, The Development of Fantasy...more
Paperback, 400 pages
Published
August 1st 2000
by Celestial Arts
(first published May 1st 1989)
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I skipped the first chapters, which are about birth and babyhood. There's some interesting stuff here about the importance of play, but also a lot of speculative mumbo jumbo. For instance: "The dreamy state of early childhood is an essential element in the healthy formation of the physical body during the first seven years. The intellect is crystalline and hardening in its effect. When it is engaged prematurely, it can inhibit the proper development of the physical organs and the unfolding of th...more
The Rudolph Steiner philosophy is sublime, serene, magical . . . conducive to a utopian existence - of which we do not exist. I want so much for my toddler to be separated from the social media that our western culture harnesses. But in all reality, it's utterly impossible to detach him exclusively from television or any other media outlet that doesn't promote pure, unadulterated goodness.
You Are Your Child's First Teacher was well written, and I embrace Rahima Baldwin's standpoint with the utm...more
Ms. Dancy speaks about educating children from newborn through teen years from a Montessori perspective in the home. I'm not a sold-out fan on Montessori principles; I like Waldorf, too, for encouraging critical thinking skills. But there's tons of really great information here to help parent's into a mindset of opening their children to the world as their guides. If I knew about the title when my granddaughter was born I would have gotten it sooner. There is solid insights into a child's develo...more
I rated this book four stars based on what I got out of it, which I will mention following. However, there is a lot of other topics, principles, viewpoints, etc of which I do not agree or really think are unimportant. I will not go into that but just disclosing that I tend to overlook the things I could criticize about Many books.
What I did like about this book is her explanations about how toddlers learn - through their bodies, motion and imitationThis is very applicable to me right now and was...more
What I did like about this book is her explanations about how toddlers learn - through their bodies, motion and imitationThis is very applicable to me right now and was...more
Jan 19, 2011
Gail
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Parents/prospective parents curious/interested in Waldorf
Shelves:
parenting
If you hadn't gathered this by the description or other reviews, this is a book based on the Waldorf principles. Turns out there are a lot of elements of the Waldorf approach that I really like. Parts of it seem a bit much, but overall there are many things I agree with like simplifying life, minimal material items, emphasizing pretend play, encouraging music and art, not pushing children to excel beyond their years, giving them time to be children, no TV/computer for little ones, no silly "enri...more
Jul 01, 2007
Mary
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
all parents of young children, and parents-to-be
I am in the middle of this book, and am finding that I want to underline, dog-ear, and discuss something on every page! I am new to learning about the different educational theories, and this is the first book from a Waldorf perspective that I've read. There is so much valuable information- some highlights for me have been:
-having 'rhythym' in daily life- not strict scheduling, but a flexible predicatablilty to the days that help give kids structure, and help keep the household running more smo...more
-having 'rhythym' in daily life- not strict scheduling, but a flexible predicatablilty to the days that help give kids structure, and help keep the household running more smo...more
Full of great insights and ideas for the first few years of Life. Some of the Steiner-based stuff gets a little "woo-woo" for me, but it's easy to skip over it and take the rest. Great recommended-reading lists at the end of each chapter too, though my old edition, which was from the library, had a fair number of out-of-print books still listed.
Among the many "Aha!" revelations for me in the book was the observation that babies, toddlers, and preschoolers (to age 7, according to Waldorf child-de...more
Among the many "Aha!" revelations for me in the book was the observation that babies, toddlers, and preschoolers (to age 7, according to Waldorf child-de...more
Given to me 2011, April 22nd and only now finished, it helped me work out the kind of environment I wanted for William to grow up in and helped me realize the parent I wanted to become. It's also a good look at what Waldorf home life is like---it doesn't go too deeply into the philosophical aspects of a Waldorf education (thankfully, I guess) but it provided lots of reasonable, gentle advice and parenting wisdom!
The title and description of this book are entirely misleading. I don't know exactly what I expected going into it, but I can tell you what I did not expect. I didn't expect to be reading a 370 page advertisement for Waldorf schools. There was some useful information, tips and tricks, mixed into it all, but for the most part I felt like I was reading a spiritualist's guide to figuring out how to pay for private preschool for your children. At first everything seemed dry and scientific, but then...more
This fantastic book offers a smattering of topics that encompass home life, the value of fairy tales, to encouraging art skills in an organic way, among many others. The real boon of this book though is the number and variety of resources cited and offered. Unlike many other books, where the author makes you hunt for their suggested reading at the end of the work, Dancy handily gives the pertinent resources at the end of each chapter.
Apr 26, 2009
Lisa
is currently reading it
So far this book is a great reminder that children are born as Soul (or whatever you want to call it) - a divine spark of God, and they are inherently creative. I hope to learn more about how to be a great mother and teacher. (this book was recommended to me by a home-schooler mom who does the Oak Meadow Curriculum - Waldorf teaching style)
I picked up this book to learn more about the Waldorf method. Some of it was hard for me swallow and did not seem based in fact, but most of it inspired me to try and create a beautiful, simple, child-centered physical and emotional space for my son. The most important lesson I took away: the need to protect our children's childhoods from over stimulation, too much media, and early academics.
This book has inspired me to think more actively about how to raise my children to see them as the individuals they are, and not just as spawns of my husband and me. This book has provided much-needed information on how to increase my confidence in parenting, and to also, provide a fertile ground for my own creativity.
I admit I am not a Waldorf person. There are some aspects of Waldorf that are lovely, but they are also present in other types of education. The way Waldorf sees the young child as weak and vulnerable is insulting and disrespectful. It is fear mongering...as if we need more of that in this time and age!
This is a fantastic book for getting an overview of childhood development that doesn't feel as though it were written by a robot. It has plenty of footnotes to further data, but is written from the perspective of a parent. Some sections of the book feel dated, but overall its mostly timeless information.
It's been a while since I read this. I just remember that it was life changing in the way I viewed parenting. I think it's so easy to lose sight of so many things in the daily to do list. We're having our first Grandbaby come this summer it's time to reread this and buy my DD copy.
An absolutely wonderful introduction to the Waldorf philosophy. I knew there were aspects that I would like, but I am much more impressed. Let young children be children!
However, what I didn't realize is that Waldorf isn't just freedom, imagination, and fairy tales. It also advocates classical education once children are developmentally ready for it, and not before. I don't agree with absolutely /everything/ but there is definitely a lot I want to incorporate when we have children.
However, what I didn't realize is that Waldorf isn't just freedom, imagination, and fairy tales. It also advocates classical education once children are developmentally ready for it, and not before. I don't agree with absolutely /everything/ but there is definitely a lot I want to incorporate when we have children.
A Waldorf-inspired parenting book. Sometimes overly simplistic but impresses the importance of play, imagination and parenting from the heart. This has become a reference book for me, and I read a few pages now and then because I find value in the things she writes about.
I have been curious about Waldorf education and wanted to get a flavor for it without going directly to the Rudolf Steiner primary writings. I learned that a lot of the philosophy is similar to what I already do, I'm just not as extremist about it. I have two renewed goals after reading this book, (1) instead of purposely doing chores when the children are otherwise occupied, to do them with or at least in front of the kids, so that they can either "help" me or at least learn to respect letting...more
I believe this is considered the preeminent early childhood book of a Waldorf bent. A good explanation of Rudolf Steiner's view of early childhood. Very dry. I would only recommend it to someone interested in Waldorf education.
I liked the suggestions for how to protect our young children from being raised too quickly or forced into late childhood too quickly. I also liked the suggestions for nurturing your child's artistic, musical, and imaginative abilities. I wasn't so impressed with the metaphysical explanations behind their suggestions, but I expected it being a Waldorf-based book.
My favorite parenting book. It's based on Steiner's philosophy, and like any book, you have to take much of it with a grain of salt (I don't think reading more than one book at a sitting has any negative effects). Still, I love so much of what I found here (and didn't find anywhere else) in terms of creating a routine in the home (beyond just bedtime/naps), learning about different needs based on a child's age, and celebrating as a family.
She also emphasised the need for any care-giver of child...more
She also emphasised the need for any care-giver of child...more
I liked this book overall. A lot of the information (particularly about infant care) seemed a bit obvious, but there was a lot of interesting ideas as well. This book was largely influenced by the work of Rudolph Steiner, whose writings form the basis for Waldorf Schools. I appreciate the strong emphasis on art and music, as well as a belief in minimizing TV watching and respecting children's natural development. I had some difficulty with some of the more metaphysical beliefs regarding incarnat...more
I read this book a long time ago, and it shaped a big part of my parenting....I am rereading it now and still love so much of its wisdom. It's preachy (as are all parenting books) but I continue to pick and choose little nuggets to help with day-to-day life with the children
While the book is solidly based in Waldorf philosophy and this prevails throughout the book, you don't have to subscribe to anthroposophy to glean loads of helpful information on parenting young children. This is one of the most helpful parenting books I've read in a while.
Mar 20, 2009
Christine
added it
How to move the toddler towards more self-directed play and reduce whining. His whining, that is - this book holds no solutions for my whining problem.
This book was recommended by Hank's Waldorf teacher...it is a parenting book based in part on Ruldolph Steiner's philosophies...but it isn't too extreme in its "Waldorf-ness". Rahima Baldwin Dancy happens to live in Boulder and runs a childcare/preschool program here-- but this book is considered one of "the books" for Waldorf parenting, and with good reason; it follows a really developmentally appropriate approach to nurturing the inner life of young children (i.e. does not push extreme early a...more
'like to give this to new(ish) parents. It's the best primary resource I have ever found on parenting and pedagogy for the very young.
I think this is worth a read for most parents, particularly those interested in waldorf. I knew much of the information presented already, but it did help me solidify my determination to let my children be children, not public school students in the making from birth. While I don't agree with *every* aspect of the waldorf viewpoint, I certainly see its many merits, such as the focus on the development of the entire child - not just academics - and the need for peaceful routine. It also gave a re...more
A great Waldorf inspired classic. This book will reassure you as a stay at home parent that the first three years are crucial, and that you should trust mother's intuition. If you are wondering what you should be doing all day, it is full of gentle suggestions about how to integrate your child into your family's lifestyle, by using everyday chores as teachable moments. It emphasizes reading, nature hikes, and other gentle, healthy ways of parenting.
I get tired of people rushing their 2 years old...more
I get tired of people rushing their 2 years old...more
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Dec 24, 2012 07:25am